Edmonton Public Schools says it's taking steps to "better understand the diversity" of the students it serves by launching its first-ever demographic survey to students.."This fall, students in Grades 4 to 12 will have an opportunity to participate in a student demographic survey," Edmonton Public Schools stated in a news release.."By learning more about students, we can better understand the school experience and inform further actions that can be taken to support student success.".Edmonton Public Schools said this is the first time students will have the opportunity to share more information about their:.indigenous identityracial identityethnicityreligion or spiritual affiliationgender identitysexual orientation (Grades 7 to 12 only).."Individual student responses will be confidential, which means they will not be shared with school staff, families, or the public at large," Edmonton Public Schools said.."The information we collect will help inform our actions to make school a welcoming and safe place for all students. We will share an overview of initial division-level findings with the public. This information will not identify individual schools or students.".Edmonton Public Schools stated on its website the survey is important because it is committed to anti-racism and equity. Student responses to the survey will help inform its actions to make school a welcoming and safe place for all students..In the fall of 2021, Edmonton Public Schools released an Anti-racism and Equity Action Plan to address racism in the division and take actions toward equity. The plan is built around three key areas. These areas were developed after hearing the lived experience of students, staff, and families and the recommendations of the 2020–2021 Equity Advisory Committee..One of the three key areas identified in the plan is to "learn more about students by collecting additional demographic data to inform actions that will bring about positive change."."The data from the student demographic survey will help us to better understand the diversity of students," Superintendent of Schools Darrel Robertson said.."The data will be analyzed with other data that is already available to the division. This information will help Edmonton Public Schools better understand how different groups of students experience school and inform actions that can be taken to support student success.".Robertson stated parents who do not want their child to participate in the survey must communicate this to their child’s school.."This can be done through a phone call, an in-person conversation, or in writing," Robertson said..The Western Standard inquired about the cost of the survey to Edmonton Public Schools.."The survey would be resourced like any other project or priority, which would include salaries for the employees for whom this is a portion of their full time work," Edmonton Public Schools spokesperson Veronica Jubinville said.."It would be very challenging to quantify the exact cost.".Jubinville said the division engaged and worked with students in preparation for the survey this fall and has explained being honest is important.."Students have shared with us that they are eager to share this information with us; they have told us they see the value of collecting data when it can be used to inform actions to further the success of students," Jubinville said.."All questions are voluntary, which means students will only answer the questions they feel comfortable answering. They can skip any question they would like, or select a response of ‘I prefer not to answer.’".The division will be sharing the survey questions with parents and the broader community after students have completed the survey as part of reporting the initial findings.."This follows the same practice used for the completion of other surveys, such as the division feedback survey," Jubinville said..The survey opens on November 1.
